


Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

by flammable_grimm_pitch



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Gratuitous use of italics, Hogwarts, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Oblivious James Potter, Prompt Fic, Roommates, Short & Sweet, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26442664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flammable_grimm_pitch/pseuds/flammable_grimm_pitch
Summary: Sirius discovers Remus' secret proclivity for spicy, queer Muggle fiction.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 135





	Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

**Author's Note:**

> This short fic was inspired by Tumblr user @werewolf-in-sweaters post/prompt: Remus reads queer erotic muggle fiction that he charms to look like textbooks.

Remus was curled up in the alcove window of his dormitory, poring over an advanced arithmancy textbook with wide eyes. As he read on further down the page, his mouth fell open a bit, and colour rose in his cheeks. 

“What’cha reading, Moons?” Sirius asked, appearing suddenly before Remus. His lips were curled into a salacious smirk, as if he knew exactly what Remus had been up to all afternoon.

“Fucking hell, Sirius,” Remus squeaked, slamming the transfigured book shut in alarm. “Have you been here this whole time?” That thought made his face even warmer. _Had Sirius been watching him while he...no, never mind._

“Looks like you’re pretty interested in—” Sirius paused, tilting his head to read the spine of the textbook, _“Applied Arithmancy for Advanced Practice.”_ Frowning, the dark-haired boy regarded Remus uncertainly. “That doesn’t sound sexy at all, Moony, so why d’you look as though I’ve just walked in on you naked or something?” 

“I, uh...Professor Harmon gave it to me as an extra challenge, and I didn’t want anyone to make fun of me for being a swot,” Remus lied, swallowing hard. He didn’t like keeping secrets from his friends, but this was embarrassing.

“Aw, Remus,” Sirius cooed, rubbing his knuckles against the lanky teen’s tawny curls in a gesture of affection. “We already knew you were a swot, so you don’t have to hide it from us. Unless, of course,” he lowered his voice, “You’re not telling me the truth.”

Before Remus could stop him, Sirius swiped the book from his hands and bolted for the bathroom. Remus let out a strangled shout, falling from the windowsill and onto the floor as he attempted to grab hold of Sirius’ robes.

“Give that back!” he screeched, scrambling to his feet. It was for naught, because Sirius had already slid and locked the pocket door behind him. Remus felt his heart drop into his stomach. Fuck, he’s going to know.

Resigned to the fact that the ruse was up - Sirius was about to find out that he’d been reading something a bit more colourful than extra course material - Remus sat down on the edge of his mattress and hung his head. There was nothing to do but wait. 

To make matters worse, James waltzed through the door of their room a minute later, having just returned from his afternoon Quidditch practice.

“Alright, Moony?” the boy asked, bumping his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose with one grimy knuckle. He caught sight of the closed bathroom door. “Pads better not be wanking in there,” James said loudly, “Because I’m covered in mud and I’m going to have a kip on his bed if he isn’t out in about 30 seconds.” 

The door slid open slowly, and Sirius stepped out into their room, holding Remus’ book tightly to his chest. The Cheshire cat grin splitting his face was unnerving.

“What’s got you in such a chipper mood?” James wondered, bumping Sirius’ elbow with his own. “Has Marlene finally given you the time of day?”

“Oh, nothing like that,” Sirius shrugged, feigning innocence. “Just take your shower before you track filth everywhere, Prongs. I might not be as snobbish as my brother, but I’m not an _animal._ ” 

Both boys giggled at the irony. James did as he’d been told, shucking his soiled kit off and stuffing it in the laundry hamper outside the bathroom before closing the door behind him. Sirius waited until the pipes started groaning in the walls, signalling that the water was running. 

“So,” he murmured, seating himself on the mattress beside Remus. “This is interesting stuff.” He held the book out, offering it back to his friend. Remus snatched it from his hand and shoved it into the knapsack on the end of his bed. “I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing, Moony. It’s kind of hot, all this Muggle stuff.”

“It’s none of your business _what I’m into,_ ” Remus snapped, frustrated by Sirius’ intrusion on his privacy. “You shouldn’t poke your nose in other people’s things without asking, Sirius. It’s not polite.” 

“Yes, but if I hadn’t done it, I might never have known about this,” Sirius whined. “Moony, how come you’ve never said anything? We’re your best friends. You don’t trust us?”

“Excuse me for not wanting to broadcast the fact that I think about shagging blokes,” Remus snarled, shifting his body so that he was eye to eye with Sirius. “It didn’t go over well when I told my parents, so I didn’t see any reason to tell you lot either. It shouldn’t change anything, so don’t you start acting differently around me.” 

Remus’ shoulders heaved as he tried to calm his breathing, but he was struggling to tamp down the sweltering rage that had bubbled up in his chest. This wasn’t the first time Sirius had gone snooping where he didn’t belong — and although it had turned out that his friends really did care for him, and didn’t broadcast to the whole school that he was a werewolf, he still hadn’t been ready to share with anyone else about his sexuality. It was his news to tell, and that had been taken away from him. 

Sirius held Remus’ amber gaze for what seemed an eternity, his own grey eyes imploring the other boy to forgive him, even though he hadn’t asked for it aloud. Remus modelled his breathing on Sirius’ slow, even breaths until he didn’t feel as if he was going to shout in his face. He might deserve it, but Remus knew it wouldn’t change anything. 

“Can I kiss you?” Sirius asked out of nowhere. The question was like a punch to Remus’ gut, because that was exactly what he had wanted from his dark-haired friend for years now. 

“Can you...can you what now?” Remus repeated, furrowing his brow. “Pads, that’s not how it works. I don’t fancy every bloke just because I fancy some of them.”

“Yes, but you fancy me,” Sirius huffed, mirroring Remus’ confused expression. “You do, don’t you, Moony?” 

“I...Padfoot,” Remus sighed, pressing his lips together in a tight line. “I’m not going to kiss you just because I want to. It wouldn’t be right of me.” 

“What if I want you to?” Sirius challenged, his hackles raised by Remus’ assumption. “Have you got a monopoly on being queer, Moony, huh? It’s okay for you to fancy me, but it’s impossible that I might fancy you back?” 

“Of course it’s impossible!” Remus scoffed. “You’re a bloody angel, Pads, and I’m a—”

“Don’t you fucking dare say it, Remus,” Sirius hissed through clenched teeth. “Don’t you dare talk about yourself that way. You’re a man, a good man, and I’ll be damned if I’m about to sit hear and listen to you tell me why I can’t love you.” 

This stopped Remus dead in his tracks. “...love me?” he whispered softly.

“Yes, you moron, I’m in love with you,” Sirius snorted, falling back onto Remus’ bed and covering his face with his hands. “Laugh all you want, it won’t change anything.” 

The pair were quiet for a while, just listening to the sound of each others’ breaths, and of James’ horrific out-of-tune shower rendition of ‘Rebel Rebel’.

“I love you too, you know,” Remus murmured eventually, once he was certain he could say the words without his voice cracking. “Have for a while.”

“James thought so,” Sirius admitted, looking over at his friend, whose fingers were digging tightly into the edge of the mattress. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up because it’s you, and how was I supposed to live with myself if I fucked things up between us?”

“You could never,” Remus said, the corner of his mouth quirking upward into a shy smile. “You’ve certainly tried, but I don’t think it’s possible. I care too much about you.”

Sirius swallowed, his throat bobbing painfully as he considered whether or not it was appropriate to sit back up and say the words on the tip of his tongue. Ah, fuck it.

“You could care a _little_ more, I think.”

“What’s that now?” Remus asked, turning to watch as Sirius sat up and shifted closer. The grey-eyed boy leaned in, stopping when his and Remus’ faces were nearly touching. Their breaths mingled together in the space between their mouths, but not for long, because Sirius was _done_ with waiting. 

They met in an awkward mess of lips and teeth and saliva, neither boy having had much experience kissing. It took a minute, but they eventually figured out where their noses ought to go where, and how it was best to move their mouths against each other’s. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it felt _right._

When James walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later with a towel slung round his waist, he was really not so surprised by the scene he found himself intruding upon. He wasn’t sure what the most appropriate move would be: to clear his throat and announce his presence, or to quietly get dressed and slip out of the room. 

As he considered his options, he watched his friends for a moment, just out of curiosity. He’d never seen two boys kissing before. It didn’t look so different from normal kissing, he supposed. _I guess it’s sort of like those Muggle blokes in Remus’ weird arithmancy textbook,_ he thought with a shrug. 

Not wanting to surprise his friends if they were to suddenly notice his presence, James picked his way towards the door, avoiding the squeaky floorboards. He managed to make it out onto the stairs (still in his towel, mind you), after which he hurried off to Gid and Fab’s room, where he would be able to wait until his own dormitory was unoccupied.


End file.
